Mademoiselle Colette, Menlo Park, CA
Here's a crumb shot of a Costco croissant. It's cheap, costing only 42 cents each. At that price and its provenance, it's unlikely to carry the aura of a Michelin star. But as far as I'm concerned, it's properly proved and baked; it's flaky and buttery, and its honeycomb crumb looks pretty good. My only complaint was that it was too buttery to taste the bread.
And here are a few crumb shots of a croissant that we bought from a bakery run by a Michelin-starred chef. It cost more than ten times the price of a Costco croissant. However, it was under-proved, under-baked, and had a doughy/gummy, almost raw center. Not only was the honeycomb missing, but there were hardly any layers; what I saw was practically a hollow interior.
WTF
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P.S. The second croissant we had on the next day was just as shoddy as the first. [5]
Today was a beautiful day - comfortably sunny and mild. I felt relaxed and happy as I was looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We'd talked about visiting this bakery for almost a year; today seemed like the perfect day. So, I put on make-up and a lovely dress and went on a "date" with my .
When we arrived at the bakery, there was already a line outside. We waited for about 20 minutes before it was our turn to order. I ordered as much as we could eat in a day or two. We couldn't wait to sit down and sample some of their "signature" items. While ordering, the kitchen staff brought out a new batch of classic croissants; I figured it would be pretty fresh. But its flavor and crust were mediocre, and its texture was shitty -- the center was sticky/gummy and chewy, like leather, and almost raw, which I had not expected!
You must understand that I came to this shop with high expectations as it claims that its owner had her training at Le Cordon Bleu and that a professional chef runs the bakery. But what I had today was clearly not up to professional standards, and it simply gave croissant a bad name! Can you imagine how disappointed I was? This damn croissant ruined my date!#@%*
Of all the things we ordered today, I only suggest trying the baguette and almond croissant, but don't get your hopes high. I do think they need to add CLAS [6] to improve the baked goods' flavor.
Almond croissant
L'Irrésistible
Classic croissant
Pain au Chocolate
Chausson aux Pommes
Sweet Kouign Amann
Ture professionals [15] put the charlatans to shame